003 Strike [Written/Action for Shepherds]

[curries]

[WRITTEN]
what does strength mean to you? and how does a person become stronger?

[ACTION]
[Asbel sits quietly on one of the crates abovedeck. It's not really clear if he's in some sort of "time out" or if he's here for his own reasons, but what's plain is he doesn't have any intention of moving. A few hours have passed, and he hasn't so much as gotten up to stretch or even gotten up to his usual antics. Instead, the eleven-year-old appears to be thinking hard about something.]

[He said he wanted to become a knight someday; he still does. But what does being a knight really mean? How can he serve a king and protect a whole country full of people when he can't even protect his friends or his own little brother from danger?]

Comments

action;

[curries]

[A nod of agreement.] Yeah, I'd take the outdoors to being cramped up in some stuffy old room any day.

[But this isn't the kind of answer Asbel was expecting at all, and it takes him just a little bit by surprise, his mouth hanging open a bit.]

Geez, come on. Aren't you being a little hard on yourself? I mean, sure, everyone screws up sometimes. That doesn't mean you're bad at stuff--it kinda just means you need to keep working on it. [He rubs at the back of his head.] Besides, even if it doesn't seem like it, I'll bet there are tons of things you can do without any trouble at all!

action;

[wantsarobotgarden]

[Maybe he was being a little harsh, but at the same time he fears his own strength and was always unsure if he was using too much or not. But he knew maybe there was other normal everyday thing he could do, he just needed to find them.]

Maybe I will find something, but for now it will take time. But maybe if people give me things to do when I'm needed, I'll be able to find out, right?

action;

[curries]

Yeah, maybe.

[He thinks for a moment.]

Actually, what I'm going to start might work for you, too. See, everyone keeps saying that in order to become stronger, I need to gain experience. And for that to happen, I have to try a bunch of different things I normally don't do. So I traded away my chores around the ship for new ones.

Maybe if you changed things up, too, it'd eventually help you find what you're most good at.

action;

[wantsarobotgarden]

Changing jobs... [He pauses to think about it once more. Yeah, that could be something he could do at least.]

Changing chores so you can find the strength and weaknesses. It sounds like a good idea. Though, is it working for you so far?

action;

[curries]

Uh-- [Asbel fumbles a little, caught.]

Well, see, I just traded a couple hours ago, so I don't really know yet. Guess we'll have to wait until dinner's done to find out. I'm helping with the dishes.

[This can either end very well or very poorly.]

action;

[wantsarobotgarden]

[Okay, so maybe asking later would be a much better idea then. So with a smile he turned around.]

Then I'll ask in a week or two. For no I should really try and see what else needs to be done around here.

action;

[curries]

Sure, that's fine! I'll tell you all about it. Just don't work too hard, okay?

[Although considering what just happened with the crate, Finnian should be fine, right?]